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Five-time Champions League winner, Gareth Bale retired in January 2023 Former Real Madrid and Wales star Gareth Bale is part of a US-based consortium's attempt to take over League One club Plymouth Argyle. Talks with the private equity firm are said to be at an early stage. Plymouth owner Simon Hallett said last month that a previous agreement to sell a stake in the club had fallen through. Bale would be following the lead of former Real Madrid team-mate Luka Modric, who has become part of the group that acquired control of Swansea in November 2024. The Croatia midfielder took on a minority stake in April this year with the stated aim of generating worldwide attention on the Welsh club. Legendary NFL quarterback Tom Brady previously became part of the new Birmingham City's ownership group, while Wrexham have generated huge amounts of revenue from publicity attached to their Hollywood owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mc Elhenney. Plymouth were relegated to the third tier last season after an ill-fated return to the Championship. The ambitious pre-season appointment of Wayne Rooney as manager did not work and his replacement Miron Muslic resigned at the end of the season and joined German club Schalke. Former Manchester United midfielder and Watford boss Tom Cleverley was appointed as manager on 13 June. It is not known what role, if any, five-time Champions League winner Bale will have at Plymouth should the planned takeover succeed. The former Southampton and Tottenham man, 35, retired from playing in 2023. Comments can not be loaded To load Comments you need to enable Java Script in your browser Club World Cup: Neto opens Chelsea scoring against LAFC in front of empty seats 'The tumult in the Ingebrigtsen fairytale was never far from the surface' Hamilton 'devastated' after running over groundhog 'Five, ten years ago, I may not have been ready for it' Investigating the enduring mystery of ‘Havana Syndrome’ Let the mind games begin, New Zealand-style Who wanted an Indian music star silenced? 'What's eating Rory? ' - will US Open prove reset point for Mc Ilroy? Summer transfer window reopens - who could be on the move? How does new captain Gill compare to India batting greats? A footballing mismatch - why were Auckland City playing Bayern Munich? Four issues facing Australia before Ashes Duplantis breaks men's pole vault world record for 12th time. Video Duplantis breaks men's pole vault world record for 12th time 'Best since Neymar' - Chelsea to get early look at 'special' signing How to follow Queens & Nottingham across the BBC 'He will go stratospheric' - Where will Wirtz play for Liverpool? Is Test cricket financially sustainable? Why has Rodgers signed for the Steelers? Ask Me Anything, the BBC Sport service designed to serve you Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.